DWP proposes ending Direct Pay and introducing a 2% fee for child maintenance
The Department for Work and Pensions plans to scrap the Direct Pay option in the Child Maintenance Service and replace it with a single-service model that charges a 2% fee for compliant paying parents.
The Department for Work and Pensions announced plans to discontinue the Direct Pay arrangement of the Child Maintenance Service, citing safety concerns and poor monitoring of payments. Direct Pay currently handles roughly 55% of CMS cases, but only 60% of receiving parents report getting all owed maintenance and 40% say payments are always on time. The new single-service model would have the CMS collect and forward payments, applying a 2% fee to compliant paying parents and cutting the existing 20% Collect and Pay charge to the same rate for timely payments.
Parents who miss deadlines would still face a 20% surcharge, while those on benefits would be exempt from the non-compliance charge. The proposal has drawn support from the single-parent charity Gingerbread but criticism from groups like Both Parents Matter, which argue the reforms could burden families. Parliamentary Under-Secretary Lilian Greenwood defended the plan as a way to increase transparency, reduce economic abuse, and lessen the taxpayer burden.
Why it matters
The reform could change how thousands of UK parents pay child maintenance, affecting costs and safety for vulnerable families.
How the sides frame it
MODERATE AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage stresses the risk to single-parent families and urges a clear rollout timetable, while centrist coverage foregrounds safety and monitoring concerns and notes support from a single-parent charity.
LEFT
Frames the reform as potentially harmful to single-parent families and calls for clearer implementation details.
CENTER
Frames the reform as a safety-driven overhaul with mixed reactions, highlighting both support and criticism.
The left emphasises
- could create new difficulties for single-parent families
- call for a clear implementation timetable
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